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April 15, 2007
Numerology Counterpoint: Finns, Deadly
Numerology is D. Klein's show, so far be it from us to jostle him from the flow charts of his cave stronghold to take issue with one of his conclusions. Now and again, though, when we respectfully disagree, we might offer a humble counterpoint. Such as this one...
Brian Eno - "Seven Deadly Finns"
Klein's write up made it obvious that the 1974 debut single from Brian Eno ended up a respectable second to Echo & the Bunnymen's "Seven Seas." The tiebreaker was of course sincerity, with Ian McCulloch's deep felt desire to smooch sea turtles taking precedence over Eno's goofy wordplay. But, to think of it another way, isn't Eno's complete commitment to fleshing out a bad pun more impressive than the Bunnymen's intonation of well done, but also well used nautical imagery? I feel like alot of people could have written the Bunnymen song, but who except Brian Eno could write a blissful song about Finnish sailors thrilling bored French women? Alright, maybe Kevin Barnes, but he's clearly an Eno disciple. Eno gives each sailor a specific attribute; there's the masochistic freak, the treed kitten, the outgoing cross dresser, the Eno impersonator, the distrustful hat enthusiast, the indoors sunglasses type, and the skinny outcast. There you go, deadly Finns one through seven well established. Where's the in-depth sea description, Ian? This is to say nothing of the giddy enthusiasm of the rushing glam rock guitar and rhythm section, which necessitates that all this tongue twisting detail come in quick-fire succession. Then it all builds to a ridiculous yodel breakdown, that in the trippy weirdness of its overlapping voices could almost be a predictor of the sorts of unconventionally poppy vocal calisthenics for which the Animal Collective are so praised. It's a song so joyous that the only logical conclusion is to erupt into yodels. How can you top that? Your melancholy is pretty Mr. McCulloch, but the answer is that you can't.
An endnote about this song that still makes me a little sad. A few years ago I was working in TV production, as a PA for the broadcast of the US Open tennis tournament. For the most part, the producers were annoyingly cocksure about their ability to pick an appropriate song for their highlights package or montage of serves, resulting in numerous "Hey the day of matches is starting, we'll play "Let's Get it Started" by the Black Eyed Peas" level epiphanies. But sometimes, just sometimes, when their bottomless well of inspiration would shockingly dry, these khaki shorted dicks would ask for a suggestion. My only real triumph was soundtracking a series of highlights from French bruiser Amelie Mauresmo's Sunday night match with the French verse of Blondie's "Sunday Girl." It was sung by a woman in French, for a French lady player, mentioning Sunday for a Sunday match. Most crucially it was from a well known artist. I still had to basically draw them a map, but it was undeniable. I failed, however, to sufficiently convince anyone that we NEEDED to play the yodeling rock out from "Seven Deadly Finns" during a sequence of masterstrokes from Swiss juggernaut Roger Federer. The Swiss stereotypes were not enough to sell it, alas. There would have been two or three confused and delighted tennis/glam fans on that day, though.
Sorry I let you down fellas.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at April 15, 2007 01:10 PM
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Comments
It is just this type of spirited defense that makes it all (writing, life, ping pong) worthwhile. You have a knack for elucidating lyrical nuances, Mr. K. I am sad to admit that I rarely give a song the kind of in-depth lyrical analysis that you do routinely, being a primarily visceral and auditory responder myself.
And nice call on "Sunday Girl." Certainly a better choice than the French verse of "Lady Marmalade" or that Serge Gainsbourg song with the erotic moaning. I would suggest to you that the kind of semi-obscene sporting event that would provide the perfect highlights reel scored to "Seven Deadly Finns" has not yet been invented, but my guess is it would probably involve spatulas, liederhosen and plenty of slapping.
Posted by: david at April 16, 2007 08:59 AM
Wot a wee corker! I've been trying to put together a 'glam rock that rocks' comp for ages and here's a fine addition. It satisfies on so many levels. Thanks!
Posted by: Slammerworm at May 5, 2007 03:58 AM
Good god, I've been looking for this song for a whole year! May the good fairy bless your souls, and may you forgive me for waiting until August to think of the Hype Machine as a solution.
Posted by: China at August 20, 2007 04:37 PM
